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DEDICATION 



Equestrian Statue of 
Major -General Charles Devens 



AND OF THE 



Monument to the Soldiers of 

Worcester County in 

the War for the Union, 

July 4TH, 1906. 



WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 

1907. 



The Commission 

It was in the fall of 1891 that the first steps were 
taken in the movement to erect a statue in Worcester in 
honor of Gen. Charles Devens. 

The late Senator George F. Hoar was the origin- 
ator of the movement ; he called a meeting of gentle- 
men supposed to be interested, which was presided over 
by the late Josiah H. Clarke with Edwin Brown as 
secretary, and the following call was mailed to several 
prominent citizens: 

Worcester, Nov. 9, 1891. 
Dear Sir : 

You are respectfully invited to attend a meeting to take 
measures for erecting in Worcester a monument and statue 
to Gen. Devens to be held at the Worcester Club House on 
Elm Street, Friday, Nov. 13th, at half-past seven o'clock 
p. M. 

Josiah H. Clarke, Chairman, 
Edwin Brown, Secretary. 

At this meeting a committee of thirty-rive gentle- 
men was chosen to solicit subscriptions for the statue, 
and the following circular was prepared for distribution: 

To the present and former Citizens of Worcester^ and friends 
of the late GENERAL CHARLES DEVENS: 

It is proposed to erect a statue, with suitable pedestal, in 
honor of our late eminent and beloved fellow citizen, Gen. 



Charles Devens. It is supposed that to obtain such a 
monument from a competent artist will require at least 
|i5,ooo. It is desired to raise this sum by subscription. 
Our beautiful streets and squares are not ornamented by a 
single statue, except those about the Soldier's Monument, 
which is the only work of art to which our citizens have con- 
tributed. The beautiful Bigelow Monument on the Common 
was the gift of a stranger. We hope you will be willing to do 
your full part toward adorning the city, which he so much 
loved and for which he did so much, with a suitable memorial 
of a citizen who was its ornament and pride. 

The only result of the meeting at this time was a 
pledge of five gentlemen to contribute three thousand 
dollars towards a general subscription for the statue. 

It was very soon decided, however, that for various 
reasons the time was not a propitious one for pressing 
the movement, and no further action was taken till the 
fall of 1 90 1. 

At a meeting of the Fifteenth Regiment Associa- 
tion, held at that time, the matter was again brought 
up and a committee was appointed to make an effort 
to raise the necessary funds. This committee consisted 
of Capt. J. Evarts Greene, David M. Earle, Col. Edward 
J. Russell, Capts. Amos Bartlett, Thos. J. Hastings and 
P. F. Murray. 

This committee called a meeting of citizens which 
met in March, 1902, at which a general committee 
was appointed to have charge of the whole matter 
of the statute. This committee consisted of J. Evarts 
Greene, Emerson Stone, Chairman of the County 
Commissioners, Rufus B. Dodge, Mayor of the City, 
George F. Hoar, Daniel Merriman, President Wor- 



cester Art Museum, Thomas C. Mendenhall, Presi- 
dent of the Polytechnic Institute, and Col. Edward J. 
Russell. 

The following Act of Incorporation, received 
from the Legislature of Massachusetts, was adopted at 
a meeting held April 4, 1902. By-Laws were adopted 
and the commission organized. 



Gtommamwaltlj af iHasBarijusrtte. 



In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and T<wo. 



AN ACT 

To authorize Cities and Towns in Worcester County to con- 
tribute towards the Devens' Memorial Monument, and 
to incorporate the Worcester County Memorial Devens' 
Statue Commission. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen- 
eral Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as 
follows : 

Section i. Any city or town in the county of Worces- 
ter may raise and appropriate, and pay to the corporation 
hereinafter created, a sum not exceeding one cent on every 
one hundred dollars of its valuation, for the purpose of erect- 
ing in front of the county court house in the city of Worces- 
ter a monument in memory of the patriotism and valor of the 
men of Worcester county in the war for the Union ; the mon- 
ument to be surmounted by a bronze, equestrian statue of the 
late Major-General and Judge Charles Devens. 

Section 2. George F. Hoar, J. Evarts Greene, Herbert 
Parker, Nathaniel Paine, Emerson Stone, Rufus B. Dodge, 
Daniel Merriman, Edward J. Russell, and the mayor of the 



city of Worcester for the time being, and their associates and 
successors, are hereby made a corporation under the name of 
the "Worcester County Memorial Devens' Statue Commis- 
sion," with power to cause to be erected the monument above 
described and to fix the exact position thereof in front of the 
Worcester county court house in the city of Worcester, and 
to receive the contributions already collected for said monu- 
ment and statue and all moneys that may hereafter be contrib- 
uted for that purpose, and all moneys that may be raised and 
appropriated by the cities and towns of Worcester county and 
by Worcester county under authority hereof. 

Section 3. The County Commissioners of the county 
of Worcester are hereby authorized to appropriate and pay to 
said corporation a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars. 

Section 4. Chapter five hundred and six of the Laws 
of eighteen hundred and ninety-six is hereby repealed. 

Section 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage. 

Officers were elected as follows : George F. Hoar, 
Chairman; J. Evarts Greene, Vice-Chairman; Nathaniel 
Paine, Clerk and Treasurer. An Executive Committee, 
consisting of Daniel Merriman, J. Evarts Greene and 
Rufus B. Dodge, was appointed. Also a Finance Com- 
mittee: Emerson Stone, E. J. Russell and Nathaniel 
Paine. 

Steps were at once taken to secure the necessary- 
funds. The County of Worcester appropriated the 
sum of $5,000 and the City of Worcester $7,500, and 
the following towns of Worcester County made appro- 
priations of nearly $4,000, in sums from $25 to $450: 

Auburn, 
Berlin, Boylston, Brookfield, 

Charlton, Clinton, Dudley, 



Grafton, Harvard, Holden, 

Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leicester, 

Milford, Millbury, New Braintree, 

Northboro, Northbridge, North Brookfield, 

Oxford, Oakham, Paxton, 

Petersham, Phillipston, Princeton, 

Royalston, Southboro, Southbridge, 

Sterling, Sturbridge, Spencer, 

Sutton, Templeton, Upton, 

Warren, West Boylston, Webster, 
Westboro. 

At a meeting of the Commission, held July 1 2, 
1902, it was voted to contract with Daniel C. French 
and E. C. Potter for an equestrian statue of Gen. Dev- 
ens for a sum not exceeding $30,000, which contract 
was duly executed, and on November 27, 1903, a 
model of the statue, submitted by the artists, was 
formally accepted. Robert D. Andrews, architect, of 
Boston, was employed to design the pedestal for the 
statue. 

In June, 1904, the Commission voted "that it is 
expedient that the monument bear an inscription setting 
forth in substance that the monument surmounted by 
the statue of their beloved comrade, Maj. Gen. Charles 
Devens, be dedicated to the patriotism and valor of the 
men of Worcester County, who fought for their 
country in the war for the Union." 

At a meeting of the Commission, held November 
12, 1904, Gen. William F. Draper was chosen Chair- 
man and Daniel Merriman, D. D., Vice-Chairman, to 
fill the vacancies caused by the deaths of Senator Hoar 




VIEW OF NORTH SIDE OF STATUE. 



and J. Evarts Greene. Maj. Edward T. Raymond was 
elected a member of the Commission in place of J. 
Evarts Greene, deceased. 

In May, 1905, the following vote was passed by 
the Commission in relation to the inscriptions to be 
placed on the pedestal : " That on the south side of the 
base the several organizations known as Worcester 
County Regiments, Battalions and Companies be placed, 
and on the north side of the base the names of the 
several cities and towns, with the number of men 
furnished by each." 

In October, 1905, G. W. Cook, Chairman of the 
County Commissioners, was made a member of the 
Commission to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 
Capt. Emerson Stone. 

In October, 1905, a contract was made with the 
George D. Webb Granite and Construction Co. for the 
making of the granite pedesdal in front of the Court 
House, to receive the statue, and with Jno. Williams, 
Inc., of New York, for the bronze lettering and tablets 
to be placed on the pedestal. 

In September, 1 903, several members of the Com- 
mission visited the studio of Messrs. French and Potter, 
at Glendale, Mass., and inspected the final model of 
the statue, which was approved and accepted at a meet- 
ing of the Commissioners held October 1 7. 

The model was soon after sent to the works of 
the Gorham Manufacturing Co., at Providence, to be 
cast in bronze. 

It should be mentioned that through the efforts 
of Senator Hoar, Congress had appropriated certain 
condemned bronze cannon to be used in making the 



casting. These cannon received by the Commission 
from the government were sold for over $2,000. 

It was also voted by the Commission that the 
following inscription should be put on the bronze tab- 
let to be placed on the pedestal on the west end. 

Charles Devens 

SOLDIER, ORATOR, JURIST 
1820-1891 



MAJOR, THIRD BATTALION MASS. RIFLES 

April. 1861 

COLONEL, FIFTEENTH REGIMENT MASS. VOL. INFANTRY 

July, 1861 
BRIGADIER GENERAL, UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS 

1862 
BREVET MAJOR GENERAL, UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS 

1865 
ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPERIOR COURT OF MASS. 

April, 1867 
ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF MASS. 

1873 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

1877 

ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF MASS. 

1881-1891 



On the east end 



TO 

GENERAL DEVENS 

AND THE 

MEN OF WORCESTER COUNTY 

IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION 

1861-1865. 



In December, 1905, the work of the sculptors 
was so near completion that a committee was appointed 



to have in charge the dedication of the statue and 
memorial pedestal, to take place July 4, 1906. 

This committee consisted of Rufus B. Dodge, 
Edward T. Raymond, Daniel Merriman, and Edward J. 
Russell, and they were given authority to make all 
necessary arrangements. 

This committee reported later recommendations 
for the dedication exercises which were adopted, and 
Major Edward T. Raymond was chosen Chief Marshal. 

Mr. Paine, the secretary of the Commission, was 
instructed to petition the City Council of Worcester 
for permission to place the memorial on land belonging 
to the city in front of the County Court House. He 
was also requested to notify the County Commissioners 
for the County of Worcester that it is proposed to 
transfer to the custody of the county, on the fourth 
day of July, 1906, the Worcester County Memorial 
Devens Statue. 

The statue and pedestal were in place in ample 
season, and the dedication exercises took place on the 
fourth of July, as originally intended. A full account 
of the ceremonies at the dedication appears in another 
part of this publication. 

The Commission at the date of the dedication of 
the Statue consisted of 

General William F. Draper, Chairman, 

Rev. Daniel Merriman, D. D., 

Hon. Rufus B. Dodge, 

Col. Edward J. Russell, 

Hon. Herbert Parker, 

Maj. Edward T. Raymond, 

Hon. George W. Cook, 

Chairman County Commissioners, 
Hon. John T. Duggan, 

Mayor of the City, Ex-officio, 
Nathaniel Paine, A. M., Secretary. 



BRIEF MEMOIR OF GENERAL DEVENS 



Maj. Gen. Charles Devens 

The subject of this notice is so well known to the 
citizens of Worcester that only a brief sketch of the 
prominent events in his life will be given here. 

The late Senator Hoar, who was so much inter- 
ested in procuring the statue of Gen. Devens, well said 
in a memoir of Gen. Devens that "To draw an ade- 
quate portraiture of Charles Devens would require the 
noble touch of the old masters of painting or the lofty 
stroke of the dramatists of Queen Elizabeth's day." 

Charles Devens was born in Charlestown, Mass., 
April 4, 1820. He was the son of Charles and Mary 
(Lithgow) Devens, and a great-grandson of Richard 
Devens, who was a member of the Committee of Safety 
and Commissary General of Massachusetts during the 
Revolutionary War, from whom he very likely inher- 
ited some of the military ability that came in later 
years. He was a member of the Boston Latin School, 
from which he entered Harvard College in the Class of 
1838, having among his classmates James Russell 
Lowell, and William W. Story the noted sculptor. 

He studied at the Harvard Law School, receiving 
the degree of LL. B. in 1840. He studied his pro- 
fession in the office of Hubbard & Watts, of Boston, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1844. He practiced 
for some time in Northfield, and later at Greenfield in 
Franklin County, and in 1848-49 was a state senator 
from that County. 

In 1849 President Taylor appointed him United 



States Marshal of the District of Massachusetts, which 
office he held for four years. These proved to be 
among the most trying and eventful years of his life, 
for it was during this time that the Fugitive Slave Act 
was passed and it became the duty of Gen. Devens to 
return to slavery one Sims who had escaped from 
Georgia. 

Repugnant as this was to him, he believed it was 
his duty to carry out the law, even if by so doing he 
was acting against his private views and feelings. Gen. 
Devens, however, made a great effort to secure the 
freedom of Sims, and raised the money for his pur- 
chase, but circumstances beyond his control prevented 
his carrying out his intentions. Later he furnished 
the whole sum necessary to free Sims, but the condition 
of the country at the time rendered his aid unnecessary. 

Gen. Devens removed to Worcester in 1854 and 
soon after formed a partnership with George F. Hoar 
and J. Henry Hill and did an extensive law business. 
In 1856 he was made City Solicitor of Worcester, 
holding the office for about three years. 

On the breaking out of the Civil War, in April, 
1 86 1, when the call for troops came from President 
Lincoln, Gen. Devens was trying a case in court. He 
at once asked another lawyer to take charge of it and 
offered his services in defence of the government. 

The Third Battalion of Rifles, composed mostly 
of Worcester men, were making preparations to start 
for the seat of war, and Devens was chosen its Major 
and in a few days went with his command to Fort 
McHenry, Md., where they were stationed for a short 
time. 

July 24 he was appointed by Governor Andrew to 
the command of the Fifteenth Regiment of Massachu- 
setts Volunteers and with them went into camp at Pooles- 
ville, Md., as a part of the Army of the Potomac. His 



regiment took part in the unfortunate affair at Ball's 
Bluff, in which fight he was distinguished for his cour- 
age and coolness under fire, for although wounded he 
conducted himself in such a manner as to receive high 
praise from Gen. McClellan. 

Shortly after Devens was made a brigadier general 
of volunteers, his brigade being part of the Fourth 
Army Corps under Gen. Couch. With his command 
he was in the desperate fight near the Chickahominy 
Bridge, where he was again wounded. Gen. Couch, 
in his report of this engagement, said of Devens, "He 

held his own firmly Severely wounded he 

remained bravely on the field until the last gun was 
fired." 

In July, 1862, his division was assigned to the 
Sixth Corps under Gen. Franklin and later under Gen. 
John Newton. 

In the movement against Fredericksburg, in De- 
cember, Devens' command was in the advance and also 
covered the retreat. The commanding officer, in mak- 
ing his report, said, "My obligations are due especially 
to Brigadier-General Charles Devens, who commanded 
the advance and rear guard in crossing and re-crossing 
of the river." 

Gen. Devens was later appointed to the command 
of a division in the Eleventh Corps, under Gen. Han- 
cock, and took part in the disastrous battle of Chancel- 
lorsville, where he was severely wounded. At the 
battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, he was disabled 
by rheumatism, but remained on duty during the fight, 
being carried about on a stretcher, but was obliged to 
leave his command the next day on account of his 
illness. 

He was able, however, to return to take part in 
the great campaign of Gen. Grant against Richmond. 

He was in command of the Third Division of the 




Vloui'tw*^ (Kws 






VIEW OF SOUTH SIDE OF STATUE. 



Twenty-Fourth Corps, and had the great honor of 
leading the first Federal troops into the capital of the 
Confederacy and was placed in command of the city 
after the surrender. Later he was for some time in 
command in South Carolina. 

Gen. Devens was mustered out of service in 1866 
and returned to Boston to resume the practice of his 
profession. He was soon after appointed by Governor 
Alexander H. Bullock to the bench of the Superior 
Court of Massachusetts, serving in that capacity for 
about six years, when he was promoted to the bench of 
the Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Washburn. 
For four years he remained on the bench to the great 
satisfaction of the bar and of the community generally. 

In 1877 he was offered a position in the Cabinet 
of President Hayes as Attorney General which he was 
at first disposed to decline but finally accepted and 
retained the office till the close of the administration 
of Hayes. 

In 1877 J u< % e Devens received the degree of 
LL. D. from Harvard College, at the same time hon- 
orary degrees were conferred upon President Hayes and 
Phillips Brooks. 

At the close of President Hayes' administration 
Devens returned to Massachusetts and was soon after 
appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of the 
State. 

Eminent as Gen. Devens had been in military life, 
he was still more so in civil life, and attained a high 
rank as a judge and as a member of the bar. As an 
orator, too, he achieved distinction, standing in the 
front rank of the public speakers of his day. 

His oration on Gen. Meade, before the Society of 
the Army of the Potomac at New Haven, in 1873, 
and that at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument 
at Worcester, in 1874, were most eloquent and schol- 



arly, and show that he was a man of genuine patriotic 
impulses. 

His brilliant address, June 17, 1875, on the 
occasion of the centennial anniversary of the battle of 
Bunker Hill will be long remembered by those privi- 
leged to have heard it as marked by strong and 
felicitous language, most suitable for the occasion. 

Other orations worthy of mention were that on 
Gen. Grant, at Worcester, in August, 1885, anc * that, 
as president of the Harvard College Alumni, on the 
two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding 
of the college, both of them being unsurpassed in sen- 
timent and in their courtly and polished delivery. 

Mention should also be made of the very graphic 
and appropriate address made to his comrades on the 
battlefield at Gettysburg, in June, 1886, on the occa- 
sion of the dedication of the monument to the Fif- 
teenth Massachusetts Regiment. 

Judge Devens was always a gentleman, treating 
all with whom he came in contact, with courtesy, and 
in such a manner as to command their respect. 

He was especially considerate of the men under 
his command, and while in the field, as the writer of 
this well knows, was often sending, not only words of 
friendship, but material aid to comrades in arms whom 
he thought in need. 

To his intimate friends he was always most cor- 
dial, kind and thoughtful, and they felt sure that the 
friendship they so much prized was steadfast and sincere. 

Gen. Devens' death occurred January 7, 1891, 
very suddenly after a brief illness, surrounded by his 
immediate relatives. 

His funeral was from Trinity Church, Boston, 
January 10, 1891. The services were conducted by 
Rev. Phillips Brooks, LL. D. The remains were 



interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery with military 
honors. 

The bench and bar were represented in large 
numbers, and the Order of the Loyal Legion, of which 
he had been president for several years, was out in 
full force. 



Action of Post 10, Grand Army of the Republic, 
on the death of Gen. Devens. 

To the muster-out roll of George H. Ward Post 10, Grand 
Army of the Republic, has been added the illustrious name of 
Charles Devens, and we his surviving comrades, desire to express 
and place upon record our appreciation of his noble life. 

Here in the "Heart of the Commonwealth" his name is a 
household word, from it he went to the war and to it he turned 
as his home. 

By his long connection with this Post and his comradeship 
with its members, he had endeared himself to us by the strong 
ties of affection and esteem. The bench justly praises his up- 
rightness, the bar his impartiality, the soldier his bravery, and to 
the common praise that comes from all who knew him we would 
add the more tender tribute that friend gives to friend. 

A life has ended which was an inspiration on the field of 
battle, and in peace an example of the highest type of American 
Citizenship. 

As a field officer in the war of the rebellion, as commander 
in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, as Attorney General 
of the United States, as a judge of the Supreme Court of 
Massachusetts he was the soul of honor and won the affection 
and confidence of all by his magnetic courtesy, dignity and spot- 
less integrity. 

We are grateful that this life, so much above our ordinary 
lives, was lived where we could share it ; grateful for its rounded 
period and for its memory that shall inspire us in the future as 
did his voice and presence in the past. 

To him we justly apply the words that fell from his lips in 
closing the eulogy of one of the distinguished Commanders of 
the Army of the Potomac. He was 

" Mild in manner, fair in favor 
Kind in temper, fierce in fight, 
Warrior nobler, gentler, braver 
Never will behold the light." 

Worcester, January 22, 1891. 

A. B. R. SPRAGUE, 
JOSIAH PICKETT, 
WILLIAM A. GILE, 
HENRY E. SMITH, 
E. T. RAYMOND. 



DEDICATION OF THE STATUE. 



Dedication of the Statue 

The Statute of General Devens was formally un- 
veiled in front of the Court House in Worcester in the 
forenoon of Wednesday, July Fourth. Very careful 
arrangements were made for every detail of the ceremo- 
nies which were carried out free from difficulty or 
accident. 

In spite of the threatening skies and occasional 
showers a body of about two hundred and fifty mem- 
bers of the various militia organizations of Worcester, 
and more than a thousand veterans from different or- 
ganizations serving in the civil war, assembled near the 
city hall for the parade. At this point His Excel- 
lency Governor Guild and His Honor Mayor Duggan 
were received. 

Conspicuous among the veterans were the sur- 
vivors of the various organizations which General 
Devens had commanded — notably the members of 
the old Fifteenth Regiment. The state colors of this 
regiment had been taken from their cabinet in the 
City Hall, with the consent of Mayor Duggan, and 
by him were turned over for this occasion to Col. H. 
E. Smith to be borne by him in the parade. He, as 
color sergeant of the regiment, had carried the same 
colors at the battle of Antietam. 

The parade, under the command of Major E. T. 
Raymond, assisted by a numerous staff, marched 
promptly on time down Main Street and was com- 



posed of the following organizations of militia and 
veterans in the following order : 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Platoon of police, under Sergt. George H. Hill. 

Chief Marshal Maj. Edward T. Raymond and staff. 

Chief of staff Capt. Charles H. Pinkham ; aids, Maj. Levis 
G. White, Capt. B. W. Potter, Capt. David A. Matthews, Charles 
H. Benchley, Charles M. Smith, Capt. William Bixby, George W. 
Mirick, Comdr. John J. Corless ; Orderly, Edward M. Dodge. 

Lieut. -Col. Harry B. Fairbanks, commander of 1st division. 

Staff : Col. Edwin R. Shumway, Maj. James E. McGourty, 
Lieut. Delevan R. Nichols, Lieut. Perley P. Comey, M. D., Lieut. 
Charles S. Longley, Capt. Frank L. Allen. 

Worcester Brass Band, 24 Pieces ; leader, Frederick W. 
Clement. 

Maj. Phineas L. Rider, commander of provisional battalion 
of infantry. 

Worcester City Guards, A Co., 2d regiment infantry, 36 men, 
Capt. Edwin G. Barrett commanding, Lieuts. Moses H. Tisdell 
and Frederick H. Lucke. 

Wellington Rifles, H Co., 2d regiment infantry, 45 men, Capt. 
Harry C. Young commanding, Lieuts. Clarence E. Smith and Fred 
A. Quigley. 

Worcester Light Infantry, C Co., 2d regiment infantry, 55 men, 
Capt. Herbert H. Warren commanding, Lieuts. William Stevenson 
and Lewis M. McCallum. 

Emmet Guards, G Co., 9th regiment infantry, 50 men, Capt. 
John F. Hurley, Lieut. Matthew E. Hines. 

B Battery 1st battalion Massachusetts field artillery, 65 men, 
Capt. Edward W. Wheeler commanding, Lieuts Nicholas J. 
Smith, Walter J. Cookson. 

SECOND DIVISION. 
This second (Veteran) division in the parade was 
made up entirely of veterans of the civil war includ- 
ing members of the several commands of Gen. Devens, 
the 3d Battalion of Rifles — the 15th Mass. Regt. of 
Vol. Infty. — and his first brigade composed of the 7th, 
10th and 37th Mass. Regts. and the 2d Rhode Island. 



Nearly 1,300 of these old veterans were in line, 
representing all the Grand Army Posts in the County, 
and by their presence testified to their love and esteem 
for Gen. Devens. Although the line of march did 
not exceed one mile, yet so infirm were many of the 
veterans that the hospital stations established by the 
Worcester City Guards along the line at frequent inter- 
vals, had many calls for assistance and temporary 
relief, and no less than eleven ambulance calls were 
necessary. 

In the line could be seen the aged veterans 
accompanied by their daughters or other members of 
their families upon whom they leaned heavily for 
support. 

Gen. Charles W. Wood, commander of division and staff, H. 
F. Rice, Sutton, Post 70; E.P.Morton, Webster, Post 61; Lewis 
L. Stone, Clinton, Post 64 ; Edward Lovell, West Boylston, Post 
28 ; T. W. Munroe, Milford, Post 22 ; Robert S. Bryson, Worces- 
ter, Post 10 ; C. A. Wesson, Southbridge, Post 168 ; W. H. Moody, 
Grafton, Post 24 ; F. R. Doane, North Brookfield, Post 51 ; Ralph 
Dudley, Douglas, Post 137; J. C. McMullen, Fitchburg, S. of V., 
Camp 28; C. Newton Prouty, Spencer, Post 37; Frank Miles, 
Holden, Post 77 ; Lucius Field, Clinton, Post 64 ; James Early, 
Thomas H. Burton, Worcester, S. of V., Camp 25; Lieut. Harry 
L. Doane, E Co., 2d regiment infantry, Orange, S. of V., Camp 
23, Athol ; B. A. Bishop, E. P. Morton Camp 85, S. of V., Webster. 
Lucius Field was chief of staff and the orderlies were C. Newton 
Prouty, Frank Miles, B. A. Bishop, J. C. McMullen, Edward 
Lovell and Thomas H. Burton. 

B Battery Band, 26 pieces, Emery D. Ingraham, leader. 

15th Massachusetts Regiment, 140 men, Gen. John W. Kim- 
ball, Fitchburg, commanding. Devens' old brigade, Worcester 
County, Col. M. W. Tyler, Plainfield, N. J., commanding, 190 
men. 

Lyman Industrial School Band. 

George H. Ward Post, G. A. R., 250 men, Comdr. Fordis O. 
Bushnell, commanding. 



Gen. Devens Post, Oxford, 85 men with drum corps. Position 
in line at request of Post. 

Nathaniel Lyon Post, G. A. R., Webster, Comdr. Henry 
Bandis, 35 men. 

Joe Johnson Post, G. A. R., Northboro, Comdr. F. M. Harring- 
ton, 18 men. 

Gilman C. Parker Post, G. A. R., Winchendon, Comdr. 
George M. Stearns, 12 men. 

Malcolm Ammidown Post, G. A. R., Southbridge, Comdr. A. 
F. Sibley, 25 men. 

D. G. Farragut Post, G. A. R., Gardner, Comdr. Jerome B. 
Smith, 32 men. 

J. P. Rice Corps, G. A. R., Westminster, Comdr. C. W. 
Barnes, 16 men and Johnson's Drum Corps. 

Hubbard V. Smith Post, G. A. R., and Parker Post, G. A. 
R., Athol and Athol Center. Comdr. Henry Brown and Comdr. 
E. J. Eddy in the ranks, 50 men. 

F. A. Stearns Post, G. A. R., Spencer, Comdr. George P. 
Clark, 25 men and 10 from George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., 
Leicester. 

Ezra Batcheller Post, G. A. R., North Brookfield, Comdr. 
Sumner Holmes, 20 men. 

Theron E. Hall Post, G. A. R., [Holden, Comdr. George 
Bascom, 12 men. 

Arthur G. Bisco Post, G. A. R., Westboro, Comdr. J. W. 
Fairbanks, 14 men. 

George A. Custer Post, G. A. R. Millbury, Comdr. A. H. 
Batchelder, 20 men. 

Charles H. Stevens Post, G. A. R., Leominstor, Comdr. O. 
J. Putnam, 45 men. 

Edwin V. Sumner Post, G. A. R., Fitchburg, Comdr. Edward 
W. Ackley, 60 men and 6th regiment drum corps, 16 pieces. 

Maj. J. A. Pratt Post, G. A. R., Sterling, Comdr. W. S. 
Walker, 14 men. 

H. H. Legge Post, G. A. R., Uxbridge, Comdr. Joseph N. 
Buckley, 18 men. 

A. B. R. Sprague Post, G. A. R., Grafton, Comdr. E. A. 
Howe, S. V. C. 25 men. 

J. Oren Fiske Post, G. A. R., Upton, Comdr. C. W. Corn- 
stock, 12 men. 

Maj. E. E. Fletcher Post, G. A. R., Milford, Comdr. Edward 
E. Cook, 50 men and Cambridge's band, Franklin, 24 pieces. 



Seats were arranged on each side of the Statue 
for the veteran soldiers, and on each side of the steps 
of the Court House, for invited guests. On the 
upper steps of the Court House a covered platform 
for the speakers and others, was erected, and this and 
the front of the building were handsomely decorated 
with flags. An able corps of ushers under charge of 
Daniel E. Denny was in attendance and the seats were 
early filled with a great concourse of people ; while 
the opposite sidewalks and the street below, from 
which all traffic was excluded, were crowded with 
spectators. 

It was shortly after ten o'clock when the parade 
arrived at the monument and by half past ten the 
veterans were seated about the statue. 

Upon the speaker's platform there were, in addi- 
tion to the presiding officer, the orator and chaplain, 
His Excellency Governor Guild, His Honor Mayor 
Duggan, Lieut. Governor Draper, Hon. William H. 
Taft, Secretary of War, Chief Justice Knowlton and 
Justice Braley of the Supreme Court, Gen. E. H. 
Ripley, who commanded a brigade in Gen Deven's 
division, Hon. Rockwood Hoar, and many other in- 
vited guests both ladies and gentlemen. 

The morning which had been cloudy and showery 
cleared up soon after the exercises began. 

At twenty minutes before eleven Gen. Wm. F. 
Draper, Chairman of the Commission, called the 
assembly to order and asked Rev. Daniel Merriman, 
D. D., to offer prayer, which he did as follows : 

Lord, God Almighty, God of our fathers and our God : 
dweller in the sunshine and the storm ; ruler in peace and in war ; 



revealer of justice and judgment ; inspirer of wisdom, courage, 
piety, truth and high endeavor in the beating hearts of men; we 
glorify Thy Holy Name as our Father, our Saviour, our Comforter. 

We praise thee that thou has written thy law upon the face and 
in the secret chambers of nature; in the bodies, minds and con- 
sciences of men, and that thou has revealed it in the long and slow 
effort upward toward the light, of the struggling race from the 
beginning. 

We bless thee that thou hast always from of old been found 
of those who sought thee, whether on the mountain top or 
in the valley; whether by the fireside or in stormy parliaments ; 
in the great cathedral or on the tented field. 

We praise thee for thy commandments and for the great 
unfolding of thy forgiving love in the life and character of thy 
Son, our Lord. 

We adore thee for the great charters of human liberty and 
law painfully wrought out through the labors and sacrifices of 
countless generations ; for the costly institutions of government, 
education and religion; and especially for the priceless foundations 
and securities of this ancient and beloved commonwealth and of 
the great republic of which it is a part. 

We give thanks to thee for the long and splendid roll of the 
prophets, teachers, lawgivers, martyrs, men of science, judges, 
leaders, soldiers, statesmen — heroic and patriotic — whom thou 
hast raised up and trained in all times and nations, to illustrate 
and set forward the principles of thy kingdom; for those whom, 
at every crisis, from the earliest times to this very hour, thou 
has selected and ordained in this town, this state, this nation, to 
show forth thy power, thy wisdom, thy grace, by working right- 
eousness and establishing truth, justice and freedom in the land. 

In particular we are profoundly grateful to thee, to-day, for 
the noble character and achievements of the citizen soldier whose 
image we here set up and dedicate; for his sagacity, patience and 
valor on the field of battle; for his wise statesmanship in council ; 
for his highmindedness and purity on the bench; and for the spot- 
less example as a patriot and a man, which he left for our youth. 

May this statue which we here dedicate in faith and rever- 
ence, abide in unsullied beauty and dignity, through long 
succeeding generations, to tell the inspiring lessons of his life to 
thousands of young men and to kindle in them a like respect for 
law, a kindred zeal for liberty and a similar consecration of ser- 
vice for their country and their God. 



We also bless thee for the high patriotism, courage and 
self-sacrifice, in the dark hours of civil warfare, of the men of 
Worcester County of whom this stone is a memorial ; and we 
pray that, inspired by the record which they made — here briefly 
inscribed — there may never be lacking to the commonwealth and 
the nation men of like splendid patriotism for every issue, 
whether of peace or of war, which the future may disclose. 

Lord, God of hosts, without whom nothing is strong, nothing 
is holy, let thy blessing be upon the chief magistrates of our 
great nation, our commonwealth, our city, and upon the whole 
body of the people. 

Give peace in our time, O Lord. Defend us from the 
dangers of our prosperity. Bring to naught the devices of those 
who would work us evil. Make us vigilant to preserve from cor- 
ruption the immeasurably precious inheritance which we have 
received from our fathers. Save us from forgetting thee and 
from dishonoring thy name and commandments. 

Remember, not against us our sins. Write thy laws upon 
our hearts and put thy Holy Spirit within us we beseech thee, to 
the end that those who come after us may rise up to call us 
blessed, that liberty guarded by law may not perish in our land, 
and that thy kingdom may come in all the earth to the glory of 
thy holy name through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

At the conclusion of the prayer, His Excellency 
Governor Guild was introduced and spoke as follows : 

It is my high privilege to-day to bring you the greetings 
of the Commonwealth. 

This statue of a soldier is appropriately placed before a 
temple of justice. The motto .of Massachusetts as placed be- 
neath the arms of the Commonwealth declares that in the mainte- 
nance of peace, order and liberty Massachusetts does not hesitate 
to draw the sword. Such is the spirit of Massachusetts. Such 
was the life of Devens. 

A marshal in the times when the odious Fugitive Slave 
Act was law, he executed the law as he found it, and then not 
only rescued the unhappy victim, Thomas Sims, from slavery, but 
as attorney-general secured him employment in the department 
of justice. 

A man of peace, he did not hesitate to do his stern duty in 
time of war. A Minute Man of '61, commissioned on the his- 
toric 19th of April in that year, wounded at Ball's Bluff and at Fair 



Mr. President, and Members of the Worcester County 
Memorial Devens Statue Commission : 

Your work has been well done. You honor Worcester 
County to-day and you honor her own. The gift you bring to-day 
in remembrance of him, a leader, a scholar, a jurist, and to those 
in numbers inscribed thereon who responded to the call to arms 
in 1861 from Worcester County, is accepted by a grateful and 
loving community. In no place more fitting than here in the 
heart of the county could it stand an inspiration for future genera- 
tions, a lasting memorial until the devouring hand of time shall 
have done its work. 

This memorial we dedicate to-day chiseled in stone and 
wrought in bronze bears testimony of a grateful people. Each city 
and town throughout the county gave willingly of its best to the 
cause of freedom, and their gift of boys who wore the blue and 
carried musket or sword stands for all time recorded here to-day. 

And now Mr. President, and members of your Commission, 
on behalf of Worcester County, as its representative, I accept 
this beautiful memorial. 

After the applause which followed Mr. Goodale's 
remarks had ceased, General Draper introduced the 
orator of the day, Gen. Steward L. Woodford, of New 
York, who served with General Devens in the war, 
and was also for four years, as District Attorney for 
New York, under General Devens' direction as Attor- 
ney General. 

Just before General Woodford was introduced 
the rain, which had been falling, ceased and the sun 
came out. He was received with cheers and spoke 
as follows: 

Mr. Chairman, and women and men of Worcester : 

The summer rains have fallen like a benediction on the 
monument we dedicate to-day. They have made the earth green 
and glad and will return in harvest and in fruitage. So the 
memory and the influence of the leader and the soldiers to whom 
we dedicate this monument will return in the harvest of better 
living and higher citizenship and in the fruitage of a stronger and 
more enduring Union. 



It was my peculiar personal privilege to receive and my duty 
to promptly accept your generous invitation to be here and share 
with you in these services. For a little time I served in the same 
army corps with General Devens — the old Eleventh of the Army 
of the Potomac. It fell to my lot to be the Military Governor of 
Charleston, before he came to assume that command. For four 
years I served as the law officer of the United States at New 
York under his wise leadership as the Attorney General of the 
United States, and I am grateful that I was honored by his friend- 
ship until his death. 

Brief shall be my story of his work and worth. 

At forty-one years of age he was here in Worcester, a suc- 
cessful lawyer and respected citizen, courtly in manner and up- 
right in life. On that quiet Sunday morning in April, 1861, which 
some of you so well remember, the telegraph flashed into your 
homes and churches the tidings that Sumter had been fired on. 
The next morning, April 15th, he was trying a case in your old 
court house. The confirmation of the attack on Sumter came. 
He turned to his assistant in the trial and simply said: "You 
must take this brief, I must go to the armory." 

He telegraphed to the Governor of your Commonwealth, 
offering his services. The 3d battalion of rifles was at once 
organized and he was chosen major. On the nextnight, the sixteenth, 
he spoke in old Mechanics Hall, pleading in words, whose thrilling 
echoes linger still in your old men's memories, to the young men 
of Worcester to enlist and to give themselves and if need be 
their lives to country and to flag. These responded promptly 
and loyally. Within two weeks Charles Devens and your Worces- 
ter rifles were entrained for Baltimore. 

In July of that year he was made Colonel of your Fifteenth 
Massachusetts Regiment. Historic and fateful number, for the 
old Worcester regiment in the Continental Army bore on its flags 
that same proud number. 

In the autumn of that year he led you at Ball's Bluff and in 
his first fight was wounded. Gallant as was your service and 
steady as was your stand that day you were forced back. 
Some of you old men well remember that awful afternoon and 
how your broken ranks recrossed the river, your Colonel by your 
side, steadying your lines and sustaining your courage. 

In the spring of 1862 he was made Brigadier General. At 
Fair Oaks he was one of the three or four brigade commanders 
who held and re-formed our lines until reserves came up and 
saved the day. 



At Fredericksburg he led your advance across the Potomac 
and after that disastrous engagement he had the distinction of 
commanding your vanguard when you recrossed the river. 

At Chancellorsville it fell to his lot to attempt resistance to 
the onslaught of Stonewall Jackson. He did his best. None 
could have done more. The right of our line was forced back in 
inextricable confusion. Wounded early in the day, he remounted 
his horse, stayed with his command and was with them to the end. 
He did not go to the hospital until his men had bivouacked in 
safety. 

Absent for four months with lingering, dangerous wound, he 
came back to the Army of the Potomac, when it was reorganized 
under Grant. He was with that army in its marvellous campaign 
"by the left flank forward," in battle after battle until that horrible 
day at Cold Harbor. There your beloved leader, unable to sit 
his horse, unable to stand, was carried in his litter up and down 
your ranks, sustaining, cheering, holding his men up to their 
work. At Cold Harbor, with its unmatched record of dead no 
braver man fought beneath the flag than Charles Devens of the 
Massachusetts Fifteenth. 

When at the last the end came and victory bent from the arch- 
ing skies to place its wreath upon the brows of the Army of the 
Potomac, you are reverently glad that Charles Devens, with 
General Ripley (who is with us to-day) went over the Confederate 
earthworks in the van. It was fitting reward for his services that 
Charles Devens was the first Military Governor of Richmond. 

And his first service was such as this great hearted soldier 
and gentle hearted man must have been glad to render. It 
was not a service as conqueror but as friend, for he kept the city 
from riot and disorder and saved it from conflagration. (Applause.) 

Then came his memorable work as Commandant at Charles- 
ton, where he assisted in rebuilding the Civil Authority so nearly 
torn down in 1861. 

Then the war ended and its results of a restored Union having 
been assured, in 1866 he resigned from the army, returned to 
Worcester and resumed the practice of the law. 

In 1867 he was made judge of the Superior Court and in 
1873 he was promoted to the Supreme Bench of your Common- 
wealth. 

On April 5th, 1877, President Hayes offered him the Secre- 
taryship of War. This he declined. The next day he was offered 
and accepted the Attorney Generalship of the United States. 



When Judge Shipley died General Devens was offered the Judge- 
ship of the Eastern Federal Circuit of New England. He wished 
to accept, for his tastes were distinctly judicial. But he had under- 
taken executive duties as the legal adviser to the President and 
stood by his post of duty, reluctantly but firmly putting aside the 
courted work of the Bench. 

(Here General Woodford turned to Secretary Taft of President 
Roosevelt's cabinet, who was sitting on the platform, and continued) 
And there are some of us who hope and trust that some of 
General Devens' successors in cabinet honors and cabinet work 
will not be tempted by the great honors and congenial employ- 
ment of high judicial place, to lay down that duty wherein they 
have done and still must surely do large and enduring work in aid 
of the Presideut and for the lasting good of the nation. (This 
expression so evidently directed to Secretary Taft, was received 
with hearty and continued applause.) 

When his service as Attorney General ended, he returned to 
Massachusetts and Governor Long appointed him judge of your 
Supreme Court. 

For ten years he served in that high place, serene in the 
simple dignity of his citizenship, beloved by the people of this 
Commonwealth, honored by the entire nation. 

In January, 1891, he fell on sleep among those he had served 
so long, so bravely and so well. 

How shall we venture to sum up and state the life, the worth, 
the essential manhood of this man? 

He was a citizen in all that citizenship means and implies. 
He was a jurist in the large and true sense of the word. He was 
a wise, a broad, a great lawyer. He was an orator whose full, 
rich and classic eloquence lives on the printed page as it en- 
chained our enraptured sense when spoken. But above all 
Charles Devens was, as no man whom I have known, the essential 
type of the citizen soldier and the soldier gentleman. (Hearty 
applause.) 

Like Bayard he was without fear and without reproach ; simple 
yet dignified ; everywhere and at all times a real man. Standing as 
Advocate before the Supreme Court at Washington; mingling 
with courtiers, diplomatists and soldiers ; sitting on the highest 
Bench of the Commonwealth, he was always one whom any 
drummer boy in his old regiment could have gone to for sym- 
pathy and help. (Long continued applause.) 

Could Charles Devens be with us in the flesh to-day, as I feel 



that he is with us in the spirit, he would be glad, yes, grateful 
that the monument Worcester consecrates to-day is not only for 
him, but for every Worcester County soldier, whatever his rank 
or service. 

For what did he and they and you, who still remain, become 
soldiers? Not for glory. Not that names like Marengo and 
Wagram might be blazoned on your flags. You fought that the 
Nation might live. You fought that liberty might go with our 
flag wherever that flag goes over land and sea. Equal courage 
and equal sincerity I concede to those against whom you fought. 
But history must forever record that service for the Union was 
eternally right and service for secession eterally wrong. ( Applause. ) 

We have saved the nation. We have kept the flag. Our 
children have it in solemn charge to keep what we have won. 
Corrupt as politics sometimes may be ; unjust as wealth some- 
times is ; blind and wrong as corporations and labor unions 
sometimes are; still on this our nation's birthday and in the 
presence of this heroic statue, facing towards Plymouth Rock 
and Bunker Hill, I believe and you believe that this nation, under 
equal laws and guided by God, shall long be kept secure in Union 
and freedom. (Applause.) 

Memories of the past crowd thick around us. Into those 
eyes of bronze comes the light of the other life. The shadows 
of the old flags are bending above us. Comrades, living and 
dead, are touching elbows here to-day. Let us here and now 
highly resolve that we and our children do our duty as citizens in 
years to come. 

As our fathers kept, so may we keep, the land of the Puritan 
and the Pilgrim ; of Plymouth Rock and Lexington and Concord 
and Bunker Hill. May God save the Commonwealth of Mass- 
achusetts. 

Long and vigorous applause followed the address 
of General Woodford, and then General Draper asked 
all to rise and sing two stanzes of "America" while 
the band played the air. 

With this the formal exercises of the dedication 
of the statue and monument were concluded. 

The veterans marched to the armory where they, 
to the number of about a thousand, were served with 



luncheon. About one hundred persons including the 
members of the Commission, the Governor's party, 
relatives of General Devens, officers of the Grand 
Army and of the Loyal Legion, took dinner at the 
rooms of the Commonwealth Club. 

It was estimated that upwards of ten thousand 
people witnessed the unveiling of the statue and heard 
the speakers. 



STATEMENT 

Nathaniel Paine, Treasurer 

MAY ist, igoy 



Dr. 

Total subscriptions to date, . 
Received from sale of bronze cannon, 
Income from investments to date, 



Cr. 
Paid French & Potter, for statue, 

Geo. D. Webb Granite Co., for pedestal, 
John Williams & Co., Inc., for bronze letters 
Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul, architects, 
for printing and engravings, . 
premium and interest on securities bought, 
on account of expenses of dedication of statue 
Woodbury-Carlton Co., for halftones, 
incidental expenses, .... 



Balance, 



Estimated expense of this publication and mailing, 



$34,568.01 
2,088.10 
5,221.58 

$41,877.69 

$30,000.00 

5,759.80 

655.00 

538.79 

339.98 

907.26 

1,652.67 

49.75 

572.60 

$40,475.85 
1,401.84 

$41,877.69 
200.00 



I have examined the above statement and believe it to be cor- 
rectly stated and the cash balance is duly accounted for. 

HENRY A. MARSH, 

Auditor. 

After all charges are paid it is estimated that about $1,200 
will be left in the hands of the Commission, and it is proposed to 
turn this balance over to the County of Worcester, to be in 
charge of the County Commissioners, as a permanent fund, the 
income of the fund to be used in keeping the statue and pedestal 
in good order, and for the decoration of the same on Memorial 
days. 



imimmmu 



lllllllli 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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